How to Cover My Monitor So People Beside Me Can't See

With cramped office environments and portable laptops, it can be difficult to work privately on a computer. If you have sensitive information, though, you may not wish people at the café or on the plane peering over your shoulder. There are several ways to cover your computer monitor so people behind you can't see. You can try them to see which works for you, or, for added protection, use them in tandem.

Dim your computer screen. Since people behind you are farther away, they need more light to see the screen. Thus, if you have the screen at a level that just barely works for you, people farther away will not be able to make it out. Be careful of doing this for too long, though, as it can damage your eyes.

Install a screen concealer. This software will hide your screen entirely with the click of a key --- changing it to a screen saver, a picture, or even another application. This is a good choice to quickly hide something from people walking by, for instance if you don't want your boss to catch you surfing the Web.

Buy a privacy filter screen. This screen covers your monitor so that only a person looking directly at it (you) can see what is happening. Anyone looking at an angle, even a small one, will just see a black screen.